A Shankill woman who briefly joined the UDA as a teenager has won a top award for her decades of community relations work.

Eileen Weir had only turned 16 when she briefly joined the UDA, a period she recounts in INCORE’s ‘Accounts of the Conflict’.

However, it was a short time after that she withdrew her associations with the loyalist paramilitary group after she realised her promise as a future peace-builder and pursued full-time employment in women’s equality and fair employment matters.

Now the peace process activist has been honoured with a major award at the Community Relations Council’s annual David Stevens Memorial Lecture.

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The 2018 Community Relations Exceptional Achievement Award, presented annually by CRC, recognises exceptional achievement of an individual in promoting community relations, intercultural work or peace-building in Northern Ireland and is intended to highlight the ongoing, courageous work of this nature.

Ms Weir was presented with her award on Tuesday, March 27, at The Duncairn Centre in North Belfast .

She first volunteered with Shankill Women’s Centre in the late 1990s and now works full-time at local, regional and international levels to ensure the Northern Ireland peace process continues to move forward.

"As an outreach worker based at the Shankill Women’s Centre, I’ve dedicated my career to community relations in north and West Belfast and to similar work throughout greater Belfast. Over the years I’ve seen many ups and downs, but I work every day on the ground on with all our local communities.

"We’re beyond the traditional divide of Catholic and Protestant and our communities encompass so much more diversity.

"Every day more residents and volunteers are stepping up to the mark to promote good relations. It’s encouraging for the future of Northern Ireland and for the profound positive impact it has on our local community. I’m extremely proud to have played my part in nurturing such an environment and I’m honoured to receive this award from the Community Relations Council."

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For a short while after being made redundant in the late 1990s, Eileen facilitated black taxi tours of the Shankill area for tourists and international visitors.

It was during this time that she first volunteered with Shankill Women’s Centre, a decision that would lead to years of dedication to women in the area, bringing them together to explore differing beliefs and identities while ensuring that their largely underrepresented voices in relation to the Good Friday Agreement – or Belfast Agreement – and the Northern Ireland peace process were heard loud and clear.

Coordinator of the Greater North Belfast Women’s Network and closely involved in cross-border programmes with Glencree Centre for Peace, Eileen also worked with early release prisoners under the Good Friday Agreement to develop and deliver programmes to support the former prisoners, many of which had been incarcerated for over a decade, to integrate back into society, secure employment and adapt to family life.

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Peter Osborne, Chair of the Community Relations Council, said: "Eileen’s journey, her courage and remarkable achievements deserve this recognition from the Community Relations Council. She is living proof of how peace is built from the grassroots.

"Central to her work in recent decades has been giving voice to the voiceless and excluded, challenging gatekeepers and making sure all who can contribute positively are given the opportunity.

"For almost three decades, Eileen has been at the fore of crucial cross-community work in the Shankill area, work that has had a profound impact on its community.

"The narrative during the conflict in Northern Ireland was a largely male one – the narrative of peace building must include everyone. Eileen is a powerful advocate for an inclusive, empowering approach."

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